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Fusion volunteers transform Cornerstone Centre

Immediate release: 13 May 2009

Volunteers from Fusion Contact Centre Services in Coventry gave up their free time to help transform the much-used Cornerstone Centre in Hillfields, Coventry, at the weekend (Saturday, May 9).

Fusion is the call centre division of the BGL Group – one of the UK's largest privately-owned personal lines insurance intermediaries – and has pledged to undertake at least two challenges this year under the Business in the Community Cares programme in a bid to put something back into the local surrounding area in which it operates.

The Cornerstone Centre, formerly run by the NCH (now Action for Children) as a family centre, was re-launched in January 2009 by the Methodist Church to provide accessible services for children, families and communities. Today it is used by two charities – the Defuze project run by Barnardo's children's charity and The Family Action Building Bridges Team. It is also used by various cultural groups in Coventry.

Up to 20 Fusion volunteers were involved in the project which saw them painting and decorating a creche and community room at the centre. They set aside a budget of £1,000 from their local GIVE committee fund which is allocated to help local good causes. This money was used to buy all the materials, a new table and chairs, curtains, carpeting and other furnishings including a rocking chair for the new breast-feeding area being created in the créche.

With the approval of the Cornerstone management team, the Fusion volunteers introduced the Fusion colours and values into the colour-scheme of the centre. Fusion has a clear set of values which underpins everything it does – such as Just be creative; Just be encouraging; Just be united. Each of the values is represented with a colour such as yellow, red and purple and these colours were incorporated into the centre's new decor as the values are very much at the heart of the work of those involved in the community centre.

Emma Palmer, Fusion sales team leader and Karen Collins customer services team leader, co-ordinated the project with support from Mary Judge from Business in the Community.

Emma said: "The Cornerstone Centre is a real community resource. It's used for a whole range of activities and we're excited about the challenge. It will give Fusion staff the chance to show their true colours – quite literally! Employees have really entered into the spirit of things and donated new and used toys, books and baby equipment for use at the centre too. It's been a real team effort. It went really well. It was really hard work, but great fun too."

Cornerstone's Mission and Development worker Eileen Woodfield said: "The rooms will be used by Cornerstone Centre to develop new groups which meet the needs of the local community, such as the Triple P Group parenting course, a confidence course for women, créches and a brand new parent and toddler group. It will also be used by the two charities that have their office space with us – Barnardo's Defuze Project, who work with vulnerable children, and young people; and The Family Action Building Bridges Team, who work with families to provide intensive family support in the home. We are really grateful to Fusion for completing this challenge.

"It will be wonderful to see the children's faces and the reaction of their parents when they see how the centre has been transformed by the work of the Fusion people. It will make it so much more welcoming as a community facility for all the different groups who use it.

Mary Judge, Partnership Broker for Business in the Community, said: "Cornerstone provides an invaluable outreach service to the Hillfields community in Coventry, which is within the bottom five per cent of the most deprived areas in the country. Business in the Community challenges all of their members and supporters to commit to making a difference in the areas of greatest need and we are delighted that Fusion, Coventry has stepped up to the mark to support Cornerstone and make a real difference to people's lives in Hillfields, Foleshill and the wider population"

Hard at work transforming the centre are, from left, Emma Palmer, Sales Team Leader, Jackie Rapley, Sales and Renewals Team Assistant and Karen Collins, Customer Services Team Leader.